The advent of the Common Era brought the rule of the illustrious Kushan and the Gupta empires. When the mighty Kushan Empire crumbled, many small kingdoms acquired territories. One such was the Gupta dynasty. Starting from a small kingdom in Magadha in the late 3rd century CE, the Guptas gradually extended their rule over a large part of Southern Asia. Under the able and strong leadership of many rulers, this dynasty grew and became deeply rooted in the Indian subcontinent. The empire at its paramount included all of northern India from the Indus in the west to the Brahmaputra in the east and in the south it extended along the eastern coast of the Indian peninsula.

Continue reading The Golden Age of Coins: Gupta Numismatic Art

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Indian princely state coins

In legal terms, a princely state was defined as ‘Any territory, whether described as a state, an estate, a jagir or otherwise, belonging to or under the suzerainty of a ruler who is under the suzerainty of His Majesty and not being part of British India (under direct colonial administration)’ – Section 31 (I) of the Government of India Act, 1935. This elastic definition applied to entities of diverse size and status, the number of which varied according to different interpretations. Most of the official documents mention 562 princely states, but other governmental sources numbered 600 or more. Out of these 60 of them issued their own Princely state coins. Let’s continue from the last part and look into the ones that did:

Continue reading Coins of Indian Princely States – Part II

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unsolved-mysteries-world

Unknown, unheard and unsolved, the mysteries of the world are one most fascinating enigmas for mankind. These events do not have any scientific explanations and are a wide string of mysterious webs with complex and untraceable origins since aeons.  People who have witnessed these phenomena believed in it, but for the rest of the world, these are just fancy stories told to entertain local tourists. We can only experience these events, a mere explanation won’t justify them. Many countries across the world have acknowledged these mysteries of the world in their own fancy curious ways. They have illustrated these mysteries on stamps and coins to allure the interest of the people towards these unexplained happenings.

Continue reading The unsolved mysteries of the world illustrated through stamps and coins: part 1

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Once upon a time when we were young, we loved to listen to bedtime stories. Our days were filled with imaginary castles and with lovely fairytales, with princes and princesses of the far-off lands, with animals that talked and with trees that walked! Such a distinct memory it seems to be. The stories that made and shaped our childhood seemed to be lost now. But what if we tell you that you can fall back in time and relive those lost moments again? Yes, it’s true. Many countries have issued our favourite fairytales on stamps! You can now collect them and get lost in those far away fairy lands again…

Continue reading Fairytales on Stamps

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